Due to the EU’s Global Data Protection Regulation, our website is currently unavailable to visitors from most European countries. We apologize for this inconvenience and encourage you to visit www.motortrend.com for the latest on new cars, car reviews and news, concept cars and auto show coverage, awards and much more.MOTORTREND.COM

Subscribe to a magazine

Subscribe Today And Save Up To 83%

JP Magazine

Dirt Sports + Off-Road

4-Wheel & Off-Road

Four Wheeler

Get A Print Subscription

Get A Digital Subscription

Gift Subscriptions

Subscriber Services

Back Issues

Personalized Covers

PHOTO GALLERY (10)

RPM Automotive News - May 2014

That’s Interesting
Ram is bringing back the Mossy Oak. The ’14 Ram 1500 can be had once again in the botanical skin, starting at $39,985. New-for-2014 will be the RamBox cargo management system being available for both the 5- and 6-foot bed lengths.

According to the 2013 Polk Automotive Loyalty Awards presented by IHS Automotive, overall loyalty to a manufacturer went to Ford, ditto loyalty to a make. When it came to African-American market loyalty to a make, it was Ford again. Asian and Hispanic markets went to Toyota. Segment wins went to the Ford F-150 for nonluxury fullsize half-ton, while the Jeep Grand Cherokee nabbed nonluxury midsize SUV; the Wrangler was nonluxury compact SUV. The Toyota Tacoma took the award for nonluxury midsize pickup, while the Land Cruiser was fullsize SUV. And when it came to luxury, the Range Rover was it for fullsize SUV and the Mercedes-Benz G-Class for midsize SUV.

Also: The Wrangler was one of Kelley Blue Book’s 2014 top 10 Best Resale Value award-winners.

Lockheed Martin is working on Joint Light Tactical Vehicles to replace the Army and Marine Humvees.

Jeep again: The Grand Cherokee was its top-seller in 2013. Wrangler followed. Compass followed that. Patriot followed that. Cherokee followed that.

Get a Jeep credit card that will have its rewards in parts, accessories, and more at dealerships. Info is at www.chryslercards.com.

The Nissan Pathfinder has finally made its way to Korea.

In 2013, GM delivered 9,714,652 vehicles around the world. That’s four percent more than 2012.

What’s the most popular brand in the West, according to Kelley Blue Book? Tesla and Scion. In the South? Ram and Infiniti. The least popular in the West? Buick and Chrysler. In the South? Subaru and Tesla. The Northeast hates Ram.

You know what celebrates the 5-0 in 2014? The 426 Race Hemi. You know what is getting a new logo in 2014? The 426 Race Hemi.

Been thinking to yourself, if only there were a new monster truck? Well, Mopar Muscle is the first one in more than a decade and is Mopar-sponsored, in case you didn’t guess. Specs: 565ci 426 Hemi, 2,000 ponies, 10,300 pounds, and 10 feet high. If you go to the Chrysler Group YouTube channel, you’ll learn more and watch more.

The site www.gasbuddy.com gave us a few fun facts about 2013 gas prices. Like the highest daily average was on February 26: $3.74 per gallon. But it was March with the highest monthly average at $3.66. Regular started the year off at $3.27 a gallon but closed out December at $3.30.

Kia has made it to 20 years in the U.S.

Is It True?
Ford is killing the F-150 Tremor?

Black boxes for every new vehicle coming later this year?

The CrossBlue SUV is a couple years away from VW?

The next downsize Jeep will be called Jeepster?

Wait, Jeep just denied the next downsize Jeep will be called Jeepster?

4G LTE built-in Wi-Fi for GM’s Silverado and Silverado HD?

Ford and Jeep are eyeballing the built-in video/data logger system that records speed, gear, throttle, braking, and more, such as what the new Corvette has? And it shoots HD-quality video through the windshield?

And Jeep is actually admitting the Compass and Patriot are its “weakest links” in the North American lineup?

What’s Happening In The Industry
Daystar Products and El Dorado County Parks Division in California will be adopting a half-mile section of the Rubicon Trail. Foresee maintenance as a big part of the agenda.

Lincoln Electric has a new mobile app. The Lincoln Library will allow you to look at the company’s welding and cutting equipment via downloading product catalogs and specs—all on the go.

Toyo Tires has broken ground on expansion of its White, Georgia, facility.

Performance Accessories has a redesigned website. Why you care is because it’s now easier to find the lift system or leveling kit that suits your fancy. Larger product photos and being able to share stuff on social media are other improvements. Go to www.performanceaccessories.com for the scoop.

The All-New Four Wheeler App and Fourwheeler.com
You should get the Four Wheeler app from the iTunes store. There’s a busload of Four Wheeler magazine content available through it, as well as a semitruck full of content from our sister magazines, such as 4-Wheel & Off-Road.

Random Quote:
“The accepted cliche is that men have a more passionate, personal relationship with their beloved cars, while women view them as utilitarian machines that get you from Point A to B. But this research provides a different insight: women are significantly more likely to christen their vehicles, and also associate a female gender with them, while more men perceive their vehicles as male.”
— Doug Van Sach, DMEautomotive Vice President, Strategy and Analytics

New Vehicles: Ford F-150 and GMC Canyon
The ’15 Ford F-150 is all-new, including a 2.7L EcoBoost, joining two 3.5Ls and a 5.0L. Additionally, around 700 pounds have been spared, thanks to the first-time use of military-grade aluminum alloys and a new fully boxed ladder frame. Also, the badging has received a total overhaul. A cool feature you will dig is a remote-opening tailgate. Meanwhile, GMC has the all-new ’15 Canyon, a midsize worth around 193 horses from a 2.5L and more than 300 from a 3.6L. A fully boxed perimeter frame, coil-over-style front suspension, and electric power steering are among the notables. An auto-locking rear diff is available, as is AutoTrac auto four-wheel drive.

What Was Your Best Jeep-Driven Road Trip?
Jeep recently held a contest in which a Patriot and Compass were given away to the winners of the best 30-mile road trip. In that spirit--but without any gain for you—what was your best Jeep-driven road trip? Come on over to Four Wheeler’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/fourwheelermag) and tell us your thoughts! Here’s our picks:

Brubaker: Back in 1995, my wife and I rented a brand-new Jeep Wrangler YJ in Colorado and pointed it for the mountains. We wheeled Imogene Pass, Black Bear, and a bunch of other trails. This was my first real experience with an open-topped 4x4, and that, combined with the killer mountain scenery, was incredibly awesome. It was definitely my best Jeep trip, even though a really bad trail decision on my part meant that the YJ had to go back to the rental car company on a flatbed with damage that made it undriveable. That part of the trip I’d rather forget.

Cappa: This job has allowed me to go on some amazing Jeep trips all over the U.S. But, I think my favorite was the very first 4-Wheel & Off-Road Ultimate Adventure in 1999, orchestrated by my then boss, Cole Quinnell. I drove my battered and barely street-legal ’48 CJ-2A on a multi-state on- and off-road trip it had no business being on, but I didn’t know any better, and that’s what made it so much fun. The trip started in California and hit several difficult trails in Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado. Ultimate Adventure doesn’t have the same appeal to me today because of the ridiculous Stalin-like rules. I hope that changes someday. I’d be interested in going again if so.

Mansour: I’ve had a few great ones, but maybe the most memorable was driving my ’08 Wrangler Unlimited (with my old man as co-pilot) round-trip from North Carolina to Colorado for the 2011 JK Experience. In just under two weeks time, I managed to log almost 6,000 miles of backroads, trails, and painfully boring stretches of U.S. interstate (Kansas, I’m talking to you!). Given the Jeep was on 37s, it wasn’t my fastest cross-country trek, but speed was never the point.